Vandalized in 2015, a historic replica of Queen Elizabeth II’s and Prince Philip’s wedding cake has been recreated using 3D scanning and printing. Just in time for their Platinum anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II is the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary. The queen was just 21 when she married the Duke of Edinburgh 70 years ago on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey, London.

For the wedding celebration, bakers Peek Freans, based in Bermondsey, UK, were tasked with a creating a cake fit for a queen. The original six-tier cake was a masterpiece, weighing six hundred pounds replete with a silver St George and the Dragon cake-topper.

To memorialize the epic commission, the bakers also created a full-size replica of the cake for their factory too. It was transferred to a museum in the intervening years.

However, in 2015 this replica cake was smashed and daubed in paint by vandals.

Thankfully modern technology came to the rescue. Professor Mark Williams from the University of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) used 3D scanning tech to digitally capture the cakey debris.

“It was quite a time intense process. Each tier took about four hours because of the amount of detail. We laser scanned the surfaces and I was then able to digitally repair all of the models, filling in the gaps and removing any of the paint, which we could then use to 3D print,” Williams explains.

The resulting puzzle of pieces could then be rearranged into something vaguely resembling the original cake.

Final Touches for the Replica Wedding Cake

Williams accurately modeled the cake to within 0.1mm. Comprised of six tiers, each thick with ornate sugarwork detail, Williams’ scanning and printing could only repair the damage so far.

It was here that the British Sugarcraft Guild (BSG) got involved. BSG Members’ Workshops across the Britain each took charge of a tier of the new replica cake, adding final details in the style of the original from reproduced molds, also captured using 3D scanning tech.

“The experience of working with WMG at the University of Warwick in creating the 3D models to enable the moulded elements of the cake to be reproduced has been very rewarding. It illustrates perfectly how modern technology and traditional crafts can work in harmony to recreate such an important historic piece of sugar art,” said Judith Lynn, BSG National Vice Chairman.

WMG Project Engineer Mike Donnelly applied the metaphorical cherry on top, placing a 3D printed replica figurine of the original cake-topping St George and the Dragon. A gift to the royal couple on their wedding day, the WMG team were granted access to the Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace to capture scanning data of the figurine to produce a 3D printed version.

The new replica wedding cake will be on display from the end of November at the Peek Frean Museum, in Bermondsey, London. This time behind a glass case.

Source: Warwick University